Nonnative coral species threatens Gulf of Mexico coral reef

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, August 18, 2005

The invasion of a nonnative coral is threatening the health of the Gulf of Mexico's only true coral reef, according to a federal report.

The invasive orange cup coral, native to the Pacific Ocean, has been colonizing oil and gas platforms near the 385-acre Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, located more than 100 miles off the Texas coast.

"We don't want it on the reef," said Emma Hickerson, the research coordinator for the sanctuary. "We don't know what the impact might be. If it is aggressive, it might (replace native coral)."

The report released Thursday said there are 14 production platforms and 178 kilometers of pipeline in the four-mile area around East and West Flower Garden Banks and Stetson Bank. Only one of the platforms lies within the sanctuary.

The platforms are homes to massive colonies of orange cup coral, an invasive species first documented in the Flower Gardens in 1992 when a diver took a photograph of it.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which converts abandoned platforms into artificial reefs in the Gulf, said Thursday that if the orange cup coral posed a threat to the sanctuary, the department could move platforms out of the area.

"It may be a consideration if it indeed was deemed a problem," said John Embesi, an artificial-reef biologist with the department. "We've done it with other problem species."

Despite the threat, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration survey found the Flower Gardens to be one of the healthiest reef systems in 14 U.S. territories and the Pacific Islands.

But some remain concerned about the effects of nearby oil and gas exploration, and increased fishing and boat traffic. Other threats include pollution runoff from the Mississippi River and white-plague disease, a bacterial infestation characterized by a white band along the coral's edges.

"We have to be vigilant. We can't take it for granted that everything is fine," said Hickerson. If the coral dies, the whole reef system can fail. "Anything we are doing out there may have some sort of cumulative effect on the resilience of coral."